6.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Husker (Sammo Hung) arduously undergoes grueling training and tests at Shaolin Temple with one thought on his mind: vengeance. He lives to avenge the death of his father, who was callously murdered by the ruthless Manchus. When a village girl is brutally raped by a cruel Manchu official, Husker teams up with the legendary Shaolin Monk Brother Tak to teach the villains a lesson and a bloody confrontation between the locals and the Manchus unfolds.
Starring: Sammo Kam-Bo Hung, Sing Chen, James Tien, Hark-On Fung, Dean ShekForeign | 100% |
Martial arts | 43% |
Action | 24% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Cantonese: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
Cantonese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Mandarin: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English, English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
It may a little difficult for even (perhaps especially) diehard martial arts film fans to think of Sammo Hung as the heir apparent to Bruce Lee, but the back cover of this release at least makes an attempt to honor Hung's fight choreography as the natural continuance of approaches begun by Lee. Hung provided choreography for a host of action films, many directed by Huang Feng, and as is related both by Hung himself and Frank Djeng in his commentary, Feng himself helped to get Hung his first assignment as an actual director, namely the film currently under discussion. And in fact according to both Hung and Djeng, Feng kind of tailored this story for Hung as both star and director, though Feng was guided by Hung's wish to offer an at least slightly comedic take on supposedly historical (or at least mythical) figures. While Arrow offers another really nicely packaged release with some nice non disc swag, the disc itself offers at least some of the same content that was on Eureka's Three Films with Sammo Hung release from 2019.
The Iron-Fisted Monk is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information on the transfer:
The Iron-Fisted Monk is presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio [sic] with its original Cantonese, mandarin and English monoaural soundtracks. The Cantonese mono had additional adutio restoration by Torsteein Gislason, originally produced for the UK release by Eureka. The films was restored in 2K resolution from original film elements by Fortune Star, who supplied this master to Arrow Video for this Blu-ray release. Additional color correction was undertaken on behalf of Arrow Film by Brandon Bentley. Further materials were kindly supplied for this release by Eureka Entertainment, originally produced for their UK edition.This is by and large an extremely pleasing looking presentation, though that "original film elements" statement always makes me wonder, especially in light of what I'd say are some larger than average variances between grain resolution and general clarity in some intermittent moments. Judging solely by screenshots (always a somewhat risky gambit), I'd say this Arrow release improves on the Eureka's release already excellent clarity, while offering a just slightly brighter and more yellow looking transfer that may actually highlight grain a bit more. Detail levels are quite expressive throughout, hampered only occasionally by Hung's kind of interesting use of moving cameras to capture a lot of the action sequences. There is some very slight wobble in the opening and closing credits, but otherwise stability is not problematic, and the entire presentation has a healthily organic look that should please fans. My score is 4.25.
Eureka's release offered two mono tracks in Cantonese or Mandarin, with a stereo track in English. Arrow's The Iron-Fisted Monk offers a glut of audio options, including Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono (labeled as the "classic dub") and English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (labeled as the "DVD/2004 dub"). While there are certainly discernable differences between these tracks, I don't think you can really go wrong no matter what your choice is, as long as you're prepared for some substantial mix differences along the way. The Mono tracks generally have good fluidity and nice fidelity, though the Mandarin track is much hotter and brighter, to the point that I actually found some of the high end bordering on the painful during music or effects cues. The Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track definitely has a bit of a phased sound, but does open up both scoring and effects. I'd say the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track fares better in that it doesn't have the same phased quality, and I'd also argue that it has a more convincing midrange and low end than the Cantonese surround option. Optional English subtitles are available.
Svet's review (linked to above) has a bit more information on the shared supplements.
- Interview #1 (HD*; 9:37)
- Interview #2 (HD*; 6:00)
The Iron-Fisted Monk may seem like it's another goofy Sammo Hung comedy, but there's a rather interestingly savage subtext at play in the film, which gives it a bit of an edge. Arrow provides another release with generally secure technical merits and some very appealing supplements. Recommended.
東方禿鷹
1987
贊先生與找錢華 / Chan sin sang yue chau gung Wa
1978
Chap ga siu ji / Zá jiā xiǎo zǐ / 雜家小子
1979
Limited Edition | 敗家仔
1981
Five Fingers of Death / Tian xia di yi quan
1972
笑拳怪招 / Xiào quán guài zhāo
1979
Tang shan wu hu / 唐山五虎
1979
'A' gai wak juk jaap / 'A' ji hua xu ji / A計劃續集
1987
2009
Fai can che / Kuài cān chē / 快餐車
1984
Fuk sing go jiu / Fu xing gao zhao / 福星高照
1985
Feng hou / 瘋猴
1979
Return of the 5 Deadly Venoms
1978
豪俠 / Háo xiá
1979
The Executioners of Death / Hong Xi Guan
1977
Xià rì fú xīng | 夏日福星 | Hong Kong Cut & Extended Cut
1985
Sing si lip yan / Chéng shì liè rén / 城市獵人
1993
飛龍猛將
1988
Countdown in Kung Fu / 少林門
1976
龙拳 / Long quan
1979